NBC Journalist and Team Freed From Kidnappers

NBC News' chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and members of his production crew who were being held captive in Syria since last Thursday have been freed, according to a statement released Tuesday morning by NBC News.

"After being kidnapped and held for five days inside Syria by an unknown group, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and his production crew members have been freed unharmed," the statement reads. "We are pleased to report they are safely out of the country."

Engel and his team were established as missing last week when they entered Syria from the Turkish border on Thursday. According to NBC News' report of the incident, the group was "abducted, tossed into the back of a truck and blindfolded before being transported to an unknown location believed to be near the small town of Ma'arrat Misrin."

The network assures that none of the hostages were harmed during the incident but were witnesses to a gunfight while they were being transported to a different location on Monday.

Engel, who joined the network in 2003, covered the Iraq war as well. With their safety on the line, there is no word yet on if Engel and his team will return to Syria to continue covering the country's civil war.